Punjab Congress president Capt Amarinder Singh on Tuesday had an informal luncheon meeting with Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar.
Accompanied by party’s Punjab affairs in-charge Asha Kumari, Capt Amarinder used the opportunity to formally invite Bihar Chief Minister to come to Punjab and campaign for the Congress in the coming Assembly elections.
Capt Amarinder, who was in Patna to participate in the historic 350th birth anniversary celebrations of Sikhs’ tenth master, Guru Gobind Singh, met Nitish after offering prayers at the holy Takht Shri Harmindar Ji at Patna Sahib while also congratulating Kumar on the arrangements made by his Government for the event.
“We just had an informal chat over lunch,” said Capt Amarinder, adding that there was no political agenda for the meeting and the Bihar Chief Minister had merely extended to him the courtesy of inviting him for lunch.
The informal discussions between the two leaders extended over a wide range of subjects, and they spoke about issues of common interest to both the States, said Capt Amarinder.
He said that the kind of arrangements made by the Nitish Kumar Government for the Guru Gobind Singh Prakash Utsav celebrations were unique and not seen even in Punjab.
Nitish said that Sri Patna Sahib was like the Mecca for the Sikh community and it was important to develop and maintain it for the lakhs of devotees visiting every year.
Pointing out that the Congress and Nitish Kumar’s Janata Dal United (JDU) were working well together as an alliance in Bihar, Capt Amarinder said that the two parties had a lot to learn from each other.
Capt Amarinder, while talking to the media persons later, said that he had requested Nitish for support in the Punjab assembly polls and was hopeful of getting the same.